It’s not a good look when Tacoma leaders don’t show up or speak up on police reform

A couple weeks ago, the Tacoma City Council held its first Community Forum since the COVID-19 epidemic began. Nearly 100 people attended the Zoom meeting and more than 50 used it as an opportunity to speak.

On their laptops, tablets and phones, residents of Tacoma used the 90 seconds they were allotted to demand justice for Manuel Ellis, a Black man whose life was extinguished while in the custody of Tacoma police on March 3, shortly after he said “I can’t breathe, sir.”

Overwhelmingly, they supported the demands of the Ellis family — that the officers involved be fired, charged and prosecuted —and they called for the City Council to defund the police by at least 50%.

As I listened to my fellow Tacomans, I was moved by their experiences of police violence. Anger, anguish and despair could be heard in their voices.

Deputy Mayor Keith Blocker was visibly fighting back tears. Council member Lilian Hunter took a deep, solemn breath.

Mayor Victoria Woodards took a moment to compose herself as she assured participants the council is listening and committed to making sure everyone is treated with respect and dignity in our city.

As these events unfolded, I was struck by the three council members who were absent.

When a community is collectively grieving, compelled to march in the streets for weeks and has flooded elected officials with phone calls and 15,000 emails, I believe their local representatives need to show up.

And when a community is pleading for their local government to demonstrate that Black Lives Matter, but only one out of four white men on the City Council are present, it’s not a good look for the City of Tacoma. It’s not a good look for democracy.

After the July 14 forum, Chris Beale and Robert Thoms explained they had planned vacations before the meeting was announced and were unable to access Zoom from their remote locations. Conor McCarthy was celebrating his wedding anniversary with his wife.

Beale watched the recording afterwards and said he was “moved by the thoughts shared by community members,” and added “this is a topic that I care about very deeply.” Similarly, Thoms declared “I care about these issues quite a bit” and announced he’s “working on major reforms.” McCarthy said he wasn’t aware the Ellis family was going to speak and, in hindsight, regrets not attending.

While the optics that night weren’t good, these men have indicated they care, they’re listening and they believe it’s important to hear what their constituents have to say.

But their absence was not the only thing noticed. The silence of the white council members who were present was mentioned during the forum and discussed afterwards on social media.

Council member Catherine Ushka later apologized in a Facebook post to the Tacoma Action Collective, stating she “should have spoken out.”

I understand it can be difficult to know when to speak up. Listening is important, but it’s not enough. Action is required.

In this unprecedented crisis, the Tacoma City Council has a monumental opportunity. Will they act on the demands made by the substantial majority who spoke at the forum?

Will they respond with their own supermajority vote to defund Tacoma Police by 50% and fund community-based safety initiatives, such as mobile mental-health crisis services, homeless services, food security, affordable housing and quality public education?

Will they request that the city manager fire the officers involved in the needless death of Manuel Ellis?

As a community, we are waiting to see if this experiment in democracy is as broken as many of us fear it is.

All we want is liberty and justice for all. Tacoma City Council, you have the power to do the right thing. If your constituents have been heard, it is time to act. Show us you care

Ken Cruz is an assistant professor at the University of Washington Tacoma, where he teaches in the School of Social Work & Criminal Justice.